JP2015041014A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus configured to detect reduction in cooling performance of a cooling apparatus when used in an environment where blast resistance of a cooling fan is increased or a temperature of the outside air to be sucked through an intake port exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature, unlike in a predetermined environment.SOLUTION: A printer 100 includes: operation detection means 61 for detecting operation state of a liquid supply pump 51 or a cooling fan 53; and cooling effect detection means 62 for detecting cooling effect of the cooling apparatus 50. The operation state of the liquid supply pump 51 or the cooling fan 53 is detected by detecting rotation speed thereof. The cooling effect of the cooling apparatus 50 is detected by a developer temperature sensor 63 sensing a temperature of toner stored in a toner storage unit of each of developing apparatuses 3. Abnormal operation detection means 65 functions also as use-environment detection means which detects reduction in cooling effect, which is caused when the printer 100 is used in an environment other than a predetermined environment, on the basis of results detected by the operation detection means 61 and the cooling effect detection means 62.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a cooling device that cools a cooling target in the apparatus.

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using toner, such as a printer, a fax machine, a copying machine, etc., each process means for performing exposure, development, fixing, etc. for forming an image such as characters and symbols on a storage medium such as paper or an OHP sheet However, it is known that heat is generated with the image forming operation.
In order to perform good image formation on the recording medium, it is necessary to manage each process means within a predetermined temperature range. Cooling is performed by cooling a temperature rising portion that generates heat exceeding a predetermined temperature as a cooling target. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus provided with an apparatus is known.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus including a liquid cooling type cooling device as follows.
The cooling device described in Patent Document 1 has the following cooling components. Cooling between the heat receiving part that receives (receives) the heat of the object to be cooled (temperature rising part), absorbs heat (receives), the heat radiating part that radiates the heat absorbed by the heat receiving part to the outside of the image forming apparatus, and the heat receiving part and the heat radiating part It has a pump that circulates the liquid and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the portion to be cooled. The heat radiating section also has a cooling fan that applies outside air to a radiator that is a heat radiating means.
Then, according to the temperature of the cooling target detected by the temperature sensor, the cooling device cooling is controlled by controlling the number of rotations of the cooling fan (cooling fan operation mode) and the amount of cooling liquid moved by the pump (pump operation mode). Controls ability.

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a desired cooling device is not used in the number of rotations of the cooling fan or the amount of movement of the cooling liquid by the pump, which is assumed at the time of designing according to the temperature to be cooled for the following reason. There is a risk that the cooling capacity cannot be obtained. In addition, at least one of the number of rotations of the cooling fan assumed at the time of design according to the temperature of the cooling target and the amount of movement of the coolant by the pump must be increased. There is also a risk of shortening one of the lifetimes. In addition, the desired cooling capacity by the cooling device cannot be obtained, and the temperature of the cooling target cannot be maintained within a predetermined temperature range, so that the image quality during image formation is deteriorated, or the cooling target There is also a possibility that a device having a malfunction may occur.

For example, an image forming apparatus may be installed near a wall. In that case, the air inlet and the air outlet of the image forming apparatus may be close to the wall, and the air blowing resistance of the cooling fan may be increased. In addition, an obstacle such as a shield may be placed around the air inlet and the air outlet, and the air blowing resistance of the cooling fan may increase. In addition, the image forming apparatus may be installed at a position where high-temperature air exhausted from an exhaust port of an apparatus or the like with other heat dissipation is taken in as external air from the intake port of the image forming apparatus.
As described above, if the blowing resistance of the outside air by the cooling fan increases or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port rises, the image forming apparatus cannot obtain the desired cooling capacity by the cooling device, and the temperature of the cooling target Rises. In other words, if the image forming apparatus is used in an environment deviating from the predetermined environment assumed at the time of design (hereinafter referred to as “outside the predetermined environment”), each cooling component such as a fan and a pump constituting the cooling device is normally Even if it operates, the image forming apparatus may not be able to obtain a desired cooling capacity.

  The above-described problems may occur not only in an image forming apparatus including a liquid cooling type cooling device as described in Patent Document 1, but also in an image forming apparatus including an air cooling type cooling device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide the following image forming apparatus. Image formation that can detect a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device due to use outside the specified environment where the ventilation resistance by the cooling fan increases or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port exceeds the specified upper limit temperature Device.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus provided with the cooling device for cooling the object to be cooled, the operation detecting means for detecting the operation status of the cooling component constituting the cooling device. And detecting whether the image forming apparatus is used outside a predetermined environment based on the detection results of the cooling effect detecting means for detecting the cooling effect of the cooling device, and the operation detecting means and the cooling effect detecting means. And a usage environment detecting means.

  The present invention detects a decrease in cooling capacity of a cooling device due to use outside a predetermined environment in which the blowing resistance by a cooling fan becomes high or the temperature of outside air sucked from an intake port exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature. A possible image forming apparatus can be provided.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer that is an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a cooling device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of control based on detection results of an operation detection unit, a cooling effect detection unit, and an abnormal operation detection unit of the printer according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a control flowchart based on detection results of a printer operation detection unit, a cooling effect detection unit, and an abnormal operation detection unit according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer that is an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram of a configuration for transmitting a detection result of an abnormal operation detection unit provided in a printer that is an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment to a service base. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer that is an image forming apparatus according to a seventh embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the heat receiving part of the cooling device which concerns on Example 7. FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a cooling device according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer that is an image forming apparatus according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of another example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applicable.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer 100) that is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for color will be described with reference to a plurality of examples.
The printer 100 according to the present embodiment has a copier function by adding an optional scanner device to the upper part of the apparatus main body, and a multifunction machine having a fax function by adding an optional fax board inside the apparatus main body. Can also function.

Example 1
Example 1 of the printer 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer 100 that is an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a cooling device 50 according to the present embodiment.

  As will be described in detail later, the printer 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of image forming units in an image forming unit, and an intermediate transfer unit including an intermediate transfer body that intermediately transfers toner images of each color formed in each image forming unit. It has. Then, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units arranged in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer member on the extended surface of the intermediate transfer member are sequentially primary-transferred and superimposed on the intermediate transfer member, and then collectively on the recording medium. Thus, the image forming apparatus is a so-called tandem type intermediate transfer system that performs secondary transfer.

First, the basic configuration and operation of the printer 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to transfer toner images of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) to the photoreceptor 1 (Y, C, An image forming unit 10 having four image forming units 9 (Y, C, M, K) formed on M, K) is provided. Although not shown, the image forming unit 10 is disposed above the four image forming units 9 (Y, C, M, K), and each image forming unit 9 (Y, C, M, K). And an optical writing device for exposing the surface of the photosensitive member 1 (Y, C, M, K) to form an electrostatic latent image.

Here, the configuration of each image forming unit 9 (Y, C, M, K) is the same as that of each image forming unit 9 (Y, Y, C, M, K) except that the toner colors used are different. , C, M, K), the image forming unit 9Y will be described as an example. The image forming unit 9Y includes a charging device 2Y disposed substantially above the rotation center of the photoconductor 1Y around the photoconductor 1Y that is a latent image carrier that rotates counterclockwise in the drawing during image formation. The developing device 3Y, the charge eliminating device (not shown), and the photoconductor cleaning device are arranged in this order.
A yellow toner image attached by the developing device 3Y to a portion where the electrostatic latent image is formed is vertically below the rotation center of the photosensitive member 1Y on the intermediate transfer belt 21 of the intermediate transfer unit 20 described later. A primary transfer nip portion for primary transfer is formed. For this reason, the developing device 3Y is arranged on the upstream side in the photoconductor rotation direction across the primary transfer nip portion, and the static eliminator is arranged on the downstream side in the photoconductor rotation direction.

Below the image forming unit 10, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoreceptors 1 (Y, C, M, K) of the four image forming units 9 (Y, C, M, K) are sequentially primary transferred. An intermediate transfer unit 20 having an intermediate transfer belt 21 is provided. The intermediate transfer unit 20 has a drive roller 24 on the left side in the figure that functions as three tension rollers that stretch the intermediate transfer belt 21 from the inner circumference side, and a bridge on the right side in the figure. It also has a tension roller 23 and a secondary transfer backup roller 22 on the lower side in the figure.
An image forming unit 9Y, an image forming unit 9C, an image forming unit 9M, and an image forming unit are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the stretched portion of the intermediate transfer belt 21 stretched between the driving roller 24 and the stretching roller 23 from the left side in the drawing. Each image forming unit 9 (Y, C, M, K) is arranged in the order of 9K. The photosensitive members 1 (Y, C, Y) are located at positions facing the photosensitive members 1 (Y, C, M, K) of the image forming units 9 (Y, C, M, K) via the intermediate transfer belt 21. , M, K) also includes four primary transfer rollers (not shown) for primarily transferring the toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 21 respectively. By these primary transfer rollers, the toner images of the respective colors formed in the image forming units 9 (Y, C, M, K) are primarily transferred so as to be superimposed, and the color toner images are formed on the intermediate transfer belt 21. Is formed.

  A tension roller 25 that presses the intermediate transfer belt 21 from the outer peripheral side and applies a predetermined belt tension to the intermediate transfer belt 21 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 21. Further, although not shown between the tension roller 25 and the secondary transfer backup roller 22, a belt cleaning device for removing residual toner and the like on the intermediate transfer belt 21 after the secondary transfer is also provided. .

A secondary transfer nip portion is formed with the intermediate transfer belt 21 below the intermediate transfer portion 20, and is carried on the intermediate transfer belt 21 on the paper P that is a recording medium conveyed from the paper feed cassette 30. A secondary transfer roller 32 is provided for secondary transfer of the color toner image.
A registration roller pair (not shown) is provided on the upstream side of the secondary transfer roller 32 in the sheet conveyance direction, so that the color toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 21 enters the secondary transfer nip portion at the timing of entry. In addition, the paper P is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion.
On the other hand, on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 32 in the paper transport direction, a color toner image secondary-transferred on the paper P is heated and pressed to fix it on the paper P from a heating roller and a pressure roller. A fixing device 33 is arranged.
A paper discharge port 35 for discharging the fixed paper P out of the apparatus main body is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 33 in the paper conveyance direction.

In addition, the paper P is reversed when performing double-sided printing between the secondary transfer roller 32 and the fixing device 33 and the paper cassette 30 provided at the lowermost part of the main body of the printer 100. A reversing device 34 is disposed.
Below the reversing device 34, the paper feed cassette 30 is provided as described above. The paper P is separated from the stacked paper bundle one by one by a paper feed roller and a separation roller (not shown). Paper is fed to the paper transport path 31.

  In addition, on the upper part of the main body of the printer 100, operations are performed when various settings of the printer 100 and optional scanner devices are added, an operation screen necessary for each setting and operation is displayed, and an operation status and An operation / display unit 41 for displaying an error is provided.

  In the printer 100, when image information is transmitted from a personal computer or the like, the photosensitive member 1 (Y, C, M, K) of each image forming unit 9 (Y, C, M, K) is rotated and driven. Each charging device 2 (Y, C, M, K) uniformly charges the respective photoreceptors 1 (Y, C, M, K). After that, the optical writing device arranged above each photoconductor 1 (Y, C, M, K) uses each photoconductor 1 (Y, C, M, K) based on image information transmitted from a personal computer or the like. ) The surface is exposed (irradiated) with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent images are visualized as toner images of respective colors by attaching toner with developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K) provided in the electrostatic latent images.

  Each color toner image formed on the surface of each photoconductor 1 (Y, C, M, K) rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 of each photoconductor 1 (Y, C, M, K). As a result, the sheet is conveyed to the position of each of the opposing primary transfer rollers via the intermediate transfer belt 21. The toner images of the respective colors carried on the respective photoreceptors 1 (Y, C, M, K) are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the primary transfer bias applied to the primary transfer roller. Primary transfer is performed, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 21. The color toner image primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 is arranged so that the secondary transfer roller 32 faces the secondary transfer backup roller 22 via the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the endless clockwise movement of the intermediate transfer belt 21. It is conveyed to the secondary transfer section.

  Also, in synchronization with the timing at which the toner image is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit, the toner image is conveyed from the sheet cassette 30 to the sheet conveying path 31 by the sheet feeding roller and the separation roller, and waits at the position of the registration roller pair (not shown). The paper P that has been transported is conveyed to the secondary transfer section by a pair of registration rollers. Then, a color toner image is collectively transferred by the secondary transfer bias applied to the secondary transfer roller 32 onto the paper P conveyed to the secondary transfer unit by the registration roller pair.

  The paper P on which the color toner images are collectively transferred is transported to the fixing device 33 provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer portion in the paper transport direction along the paper transport path 31 and the color toner image on the paper P. Is established. Then, the fixed sheet P is discharged by the rotation of a discharge roller (not shown) provided immediately upstream of the sheet discharge direction 35 in the sheet conveyance direction. Further, the untransferred toner that has not been primarily transferred from the respective photoreceptors 1 (Y, C, M, K) to the intermediate transfer belt 21 in the primary transfer portion is transferred to each photoreceptor 1 (Y, C, M, K). ) At the downstream side of the primary transfer portion in the photoconductor rotation direction. The residual transfer toner that could not be completely transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 21 onto the paper P at the secondary transfer portion is also removed by the belt cleaning device to prepare for image formation again.

Here, as in the printer 100 of this embodiment, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image of characters, symbols, and the like on a recording medium such as paper or an OHP sheet using toner is capable of producing a high-definition image. Since it can be formed on a recording medium at high speed, it is widely used.
However, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, in each step of scanning (document reading) in an image forming apparatus provided with exposure, development, fixing, and a scanner device for image formation in the main body of each process means. With fever and temperature rise.

Specifically, in an optical system apparatus, a scanner lamp of a scanner apparatus that scans an original or a scanner motor that drives the scanner lamp generates heat, a laser light source included in the optical writing apparatus, a motor that drives a polygon mirror that rotates at high speed, etc. Generates heat.
In the developing device, when the charging property is imparted to the toner, the temperature of the housing portion of the developing device containing the toner or the developer due to the frictional heat due to the stirring of the developer composed of the toner or the like occurs.
In the fixing device, the temperature of the peripheral part increases due to the heat of the heater, which is a heat source for heat fixing, and the recording medium after fixing becomes high temperature. I will let you.

If the heat as described above stays in the main body device, various problems may occur.
For example, when the temperature of the toner is raised to a temperature close to the softening temperature, an image quality defect occurs, or a movable part such as the photosensitive unit, the developing device, and the toner container is locked and a failure occurs. Further, the oil such as the bearing deteriorates due to the temperature rise, or the mechanical life of the motor or the like that is a driving source for rotating each rotating body is shortened. Or, if the heat radiation of the IC on the electric board provided in each control unit is insufficient, it may cause malfunction or failure. Furthermore, deformation may occur in a resin component having a low heat-resistant temperature.

  In addition, when the recording medium after fixing is stacked on a paper discharge tray or the like with heat, the toner may be softened by heat accumulated in the stack of stacked recording media. When the toner forming the toner image on the recording medium is softened and the recording medium is further overlapped, pressure due to the weight of the bundle of recording media is generated, and the softened toner sticks between the recording media. A so-called blocking phenomenon may occur. If the recording media in which the blocking phenomenon occurs are forcibly peeled off, the toner image will be broken.

In recent image forming apparatuses, the amount of heat generated by each process means increases as the speed increases, and the size of the image forming apparatuses is increasing. For this reason, an increasing number of image forming apparatuses are equipped with a process unit that requires temperature management and a cooling device that cools the recording medium.
Further, in the conventional air cooling method using a cooling fan, it is difficult to sufficiently cool each process means and recording medium, and it has been considered to adopt a liquid cooling method as a more efficient cooling method. The liquid cooling type cooling device forms a flow path in the cooling target (cooling target location), or a heat receiving part that forms the flow path is in close contact with or close to the cooling target, and the flow path has a lower temperature than the cooling target. Heat is taken from the object to be cooled by flowing (supplying) the coolant.

As an image forming apparatus provided with a conventional liquid cooling type cooling device, as in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, the cooling capacity depends on the temperature of the temperature rising portion that is a cooling target. A configuration for controlling a pump or a cooling fan, which is a cooling component, is known.
Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a pump and a cooling fan included in a cooling device are controlled based on the temperature of air that is heat-exchanged with a cooling liquid in a heat radiating unit.

The temperature of the cooling target (cooling target location) of the image forming apparatus cooled by the liquid cooling type cooling device is the amount of heat generated and received by the cooling target, the heat receiving characteristic of the heat receiving part, the heat dissipation characteristic of the heat radiating part, It depends on the state (temperature, flow rate) of the supplied air (outside air). The heat generation amount and the heat reception amount of the cooling target can be grasped in advance from experiments and simulations for the heat reception characteristics of the heat reception portion and the heat dissipation characteristics of the heat dissipation portion.
Conventionally, when determining the performance of a cooling device, the lower and upper limits of the installation environment temperature of the image forming apparatus are specified, and the performance of the cooling device is determined so that cooling is possible even at the upper temperature limit. Cooling devices have been designed to achieve performance. At that time, as the design value of the temperature of the air supplied to the heat radiating unit, a value obtained by adding a predetermined numerical value to the upper limit of the installation environment temperature is used in order to provide an upper limit or margin of the installation environment temperature. Also, the design value of the flow rate of air supplied to the heat radiating unit is the flow rate required from the pressure loss due to the fins such as radiators provided in the air inlet and the heat radiating unit and the duct from the air inlet to the exhaust port, and the cooling fan characteristics It was often set to.

The installation environment temperature is usually controlled by the air conditioning / heating equipment in the room where the image forming apparatus is installed.However, depending on the situation around the air intake and exhaust ports of the image forming apparatus, The temperature and flow rate of the supplied air are not always the design values described above.
For example, if there is air conditioning / heating equipment in a place near the air inlet of the image forming apparatus, the temperature of the control airflow from the air conditioning / heating equipment can be higher than the upper limit of the installation environment temperature. There is sex. For this reason, the temperature of the air supplied to a heat radiating part may become higher than the upper limit of installation environment temperature.

In addition, the image forming apparatus may be installed at a position where high-temperature air exhausted from an exhaust port of a device other than the image forming apparatus that radiates heat is taken in from the intake port of the image forming apparatus. . When installed in this way, the temperature of the air supplied to the heat radiating unit of the image forming apparatus may be higher than the upper limit of the installation environment temperature.
In other words, the installation environment temperature at which the image forming apparatus is installed may be higher than the design value.

  In addition, if there are obstacles that block the intake and exhaust vents of the image forming apparatus, or if dust or the like adheres to the filters or slits provided at the intake or exhaust vents, The blowing resistance of the outside air by the fan increases. As a result, the flow rate of air (outside air) supplied to the heat radiating unit becomes lower than the above-described design value.

As described above, when the temperature of the air supplied to the heat radiating unit is higher than the design value or the flow rate of air supplied to the heat radiating unit is lower than the designed value, the air supplied to the heat radiating unit and the heat radiating The desired heat exchange with the part cannot be performed, and there is a risk that the cooling capacity of the cooling device will be insufficient. Thus, if the cooling capacity of the cooling device is insufficient, the temperature of the cooling target may exceed the allowable temperature.
Moreover, in the structure of patent document 2, although the temperature of the air supplied to a thermal radiation part is measured and the cooling device is controlled, description with respect to the fall of the cooling capability by the fall of the flow volume supplied to a thermal radiation part There is no.

  Further, the air supplied to the heat radiating portion of the image forming apparatus again may have a temperature distribution due to the surrounding conditions and the exhaust discharged from the image forming apparatus. In particular, when it is desired to increase the cooling capacity of the cooling device, it is necessary to enlarge the heat radiation portion. Therefore, the temperature distribution of the supplied air that is heat-exchanged in the heat radiating unit becomes complicated, and the temperature difference depending on the position to be measured also increases. For this reason, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the temperature of the air supplied to the heat radiating unit.

As a result of repeated studies to solve the above problems, the inventors have found a method for detecting a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device due to the use of the image forming apparatus in the following environment. In other words, it was caused by use in an environment outside the predetermined environment (hereinafter referred to as “outside the predetermined environment”) in which the ventilation resistance by the cooling fan is increased or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port exceeds the predetermined upper limit temperature. This is a method for detecting a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device.
In addition, the present inventors have found a method for notifying a user or a service base when a decrease in cooling capacity of a cooling device due to use outside a predetermined environment is detected. That is, the present inventors have found a method for judging the environment around the image forming apparatus from the operation status of the cooling device and the status of the cooling target, and notifying the user or service base when improvement is necessary.
Next, a description will be given of a method for detecting a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 caused by use outside the predetermined environment, and a method for enabling notification to the user when detected, which is employed in the printer 100 according to the present embodiment. To do.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the printer 100 of this embodiment, cooling is performed on the side surface of the toner storage portion of the developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) of each image forming unit 9 (Y, C, M, K). The cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K) which is a heat receiving part of the apparatus 50 is provided so as to contact. In FIG. 1, a cooling fan 53 that increases the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 by applying outside air to the radiator 52 that is a heat radiating portion on the right side surface side, and a duct 57 that arranges these in the internal space are provided on the right side. An intake port 58 and an exhaust port 59 which are vent holes of the duct 57 are provided on the side surface.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooling device 50 includes a liquid feed pump 51, a radiator 52, cooling jackets 55 (Y, C, M, K), and a reserve tank 56 that are connected to each other through a pipe that passes the cooling liquid. A coolant tube 54 is connected in series by a rubber tube 54 to constitute a circulation path for the coolant.

Here, each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K) is made of aluminum, and the radiator 52 uses a corrugated fin type made of aluminum. Further, the coolant is mainly composed of water, and propylene glycol, ethylene glycol or the like is added and used in order to lower the freezing temperature of the coolant.
In FIG. 1, the reserve tank 56 is omitted for the sake of explanation, but a configuration without the reserve tank 56 is also possible.

In this cooling device 50, the coolant is again supplied from the liquid feed pump 51 connected by each rubber tube 54 through the radiator 52, each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K), and the reserve tank 56. Return to feed pump 51. As described above, since the cooling liquid warmed by the respective cooling jackets 55 (Y, C, M, K) as the heat receiving portions is cooled by the radiator 52 as the heat radiating portion, a predetermined amount of the cooling liquid is supplied to the cooling device 50. By circulating between the cooling components, the toner that is the object of cooling can be cooled.
Each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K) is in close contact with the side surface of the toner container of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) via a low-hardness heat conductive sheet. Has been placed. Here, the portion of the casing forming the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is made of aluminum and has high thermal conductivity. Therefore, the developer containing toner can be cooled by cooling the side surface of the casing.

The cooling liquid that receives the heat of the toner (developer) from the side surface of the toner accommodating portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) by each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K) is the radiator 52. Is cooled by exchanging heat with air (outside air).
The radiator 52 is disposed in a duct 57 that is connected to an air inlet 58 and an air outlet 59 that are ventilation holes provided in the exterior of the printer 100. Further, the cooling fan 53 provided on the upstream side of the outside air in the duct 57 in the driving direction is driven, so that the air outside the printer 100 is sucked into the duct 57. Then, when the sucked air hits (passes through) the radiator 52, heat exchange is performed between the coolant in the radiator 52 and the air. The air that has passed through the radiator 52 is discharged from the exhaust port 59 to the outside of the printer 100.

  As described above, air outside the printer 100 (outside air) is taken in from the intake port 58 provided in the exterior by the cooling fan 53, and the air flow generated by the cooling fan 53 causes the internal flow path and fins of the radiator 52 to Forced convection heat transfer with flowing air. Then, the temperature of the coolant flowing in the internal flow path of the radiator 52 is lowered.

The printer 100 according to the present embodiment includes an operation detection unit 61 that detects the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 that are cooling components of the cooling device 50. The operation detecting means 61 detects the operating states of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 by detecting the rotational speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, respectively.
Further, a cooling effect detecting means 62 for detecting the cooling effect of the toner in the toner accommodating portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) which is a cooling target by the cooling device 50 is provided. The cooling effect detection means 62 is provided in each toner container by a developer temperature sensor 63 (Y, C, M, K) provided in the toner container of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). By detecting the temperature of the toner, the cooling effect by the cooling device 50 is detected.

Further, an abnormal operation detection unit 65 that detects an abnormal operation of the cooling device 50 based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61 and the cooling effect detection unit 62 is provided.
Specifically, the abnormal operation detection means 65 is within a predetermined rotation speed control range in which the rotation speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 detected by the operation detection means 61 are controlled by a cooling control unit (not shown). It is judged whether it is in. By determining in this way, it is detected (determined) whether the operation state of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 is normal or abnormal.
In the printer 100 of this embodiment, the liquid feed pump is adjusted so that the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 is adjusted in accordance with the temperature of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). The driving of the cooling fan 51 and the cooling fan 53 is controlled by the cooling control unit.

Further, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the toner in each toner storage unit detected by the cooling effect detection unit 62 is equal to or lower than the cooling target temperature controlled by the cooling control unit. By determining in this way, it is detected (determined) whether the desired cooling effect of the toner by the cooling device 50 is normally obtained or not (abnormal).
As the cooling target temperature, a value of a design temperature that is a control target used at the time of designing the cooling device 50 or a value lower than a design temperature that is determined to provide a margin is used.

Then, based on the detection result of the operation detection means 61, when an abnormality in at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 is detected, an abnormality (failure) is detected in the operation / display unit 41. A cooling component name and a message indicating that an abnormal operation has occurred are displayed. Here, the operation / display unit 41 functions as a notification unit that notifies the abnormal operation of each cooling component detected by the abnormal operation detection unit 65. Further, when an abnormality in at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 is detected, the operation / display unit 41 regardless of the normal / abnormal detection result of the detection result of the cooling effect detection means 62. Display the above message.
Further, when it is detected from the detection results of the operation detection means 61 and the cooling effect detection means 62 that the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 operate normally and a desired cooling effect is obtained, the operation / display is performed. No message is displayed on the part 41.

Further, if the desired cooling effect is not obtained even though the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 are operating normally from the detection results of the operation detecting means 61 and the cooling effect detecting means 62, it is outside the predetermined environment. It is detected that the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to use in By being able to detect in this way, the abnormal operation detection unit 65 can also function as a use environment detection unit that detects a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 due to use of the printer 100 outside a predetermined environment.
Then, a message to the effect that the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to use outside the predetermined environment is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means. In addition, the operation / display unit 41 can display and notify the inspection items that the user wants to perform.

As described above, the printer 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment uses the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and a use environment for detecting a decrease in the cooling effect by the cooling device 50 due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment. An abnormal operation detection unit 65 that also functions as a detection unit is provided. Thus, by providing the operation detection means 61, the cooling effect detection means 62, and the abnormal operation detection means 65, the following effects can be produced.
The abnormal operation detecting means 65 is used outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100 when the cooling effect of the desired cooling target by the cooling device 50 is not obtained even though all the cooling components are operating normally. It can be determined that the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the above. Therefore, the toner temperature rises due to a failure of any one of the cooling components, the blowing resistance by the cooling fan 53 increases, or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port 58 or the like exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature. It can be distinguished from a decrease in cooling capacity due to use outside a predetermined environment.
Therefore, the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use outside the predetermined environment in which the blowing resistance by the cooling fan 53 is increased or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port 58 exceeds the predetermined upper limit temperature. A detectable printer 100 can be provided.

Further, as a cooling device for cooling the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K), a liquid cooling type cooling device 50 having a liquid feed pump 51, a radiator 52, and a cooling fan 53. Is used. Then, the operation detecting means 61 detects the rotational speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 to detect the operation states of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53. By configuring the printer 100 in this way, the following effects can be obtained.
By detecting the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 by the operation detection means 61, the state of the operating part that greatly affects the cooling effect of the liquid cooling type cooling device 50 can be detected, and the operation is efficiently performed. The printer 100 can be controlled.

The cooling effect detection means 62 uses a developer temperature sensor 63Y that detects the temperature of toner stored in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). There is an effect.
A developer temperature sensor 63 (Y, C, M, K) used when the operation of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 included in the cooling device 50 is controlled by the cooling control unit, and a sensor used for the cooling effect detection means 62; Can also be used. Therefore, the cost of the printer 100 can be reduced.

In addition, the printer 100 includes notifying means for notifying a user such as a user of the printer 100 of the detection result of the printer 100 detected by the abnormal operation detecting means 65, and can provide the following effects. .
It is possible to prevent the printer 100 from being used for a long time in a state where the cooling effect is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment. Accordingly, the life of the cooling component of either the liquid feed pump 51 or the cooling fan 53 is shortened, or any one of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K) each containing toner of each color. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of failure.
Further, since the occurrence of a failure of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) can be suppressed, image formation due to any failure of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) cannot be performed. The occurrence of downtime can also be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cooling effect detecting means 62 detects the temperature of the toner in each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled, and the developer temperature sensor 63 (Y, C, M). , K) directly, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the temperature of the portion of the casing that forms the toner accommodating portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is measured, and the inside of the toner accommodating portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is measured. The temperature of the toner can be estimated and detected indirectly.

  Further, in the printer 100 of this embodiment, the liquid feed pump 51, the radiator 52, the cooling jackets 55 (Y, C, M, K), and the reserve tank 56 of the cooling device 50 are conduits through which the cooling liquid passes. The configuration is such that the coolant is circulated by being connected in series by a rubber tube 54. And the structure of the connection part of each rubber tube 54, each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K), the reserve tank 56, the liquid feed pump 51, and the radiator 52, the structure of the reserve tank 56, and each The material of the rubber tube 54 is such that liquid leakage is unlikely to occur. For this reason, in the above-described embodiment, the operation detecting means 61 detects the rotational speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53.

However, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and is not limited to an image forming apparatus having a configuration in which liquid leakage hardly occurs as described above, and can also be applied to an image forming apparatus in which liquid leakage may occur. .
However, when the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus that may cause liquid leakage, for example, a liquid leakage detection unit that detects liquid leakage by detecting the amount of cooling liquid in the reserve tank 56 is provided. It is desirable to provide it. Thus, by providing the liquid leakage detecting means for detecting the amount of the coolant circulating between each cooling jacket 55 (Y, C, M, K) and the radiator 52 and detecting the coolant leakage. The following effects can be achieved. A decrease in the cooling effect due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment can also be distinguished from a decrease in the cooling capacity due to a decrease in the cooling liquid due to natural volatilization or liquid leakage.

(Example 2)
Example 2 of the printer 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of control based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the abnormal operation detection unit 65 of the printer 100 according to the present embodiment.

The printer 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the printer according to the first embodiment only in that the inspection items that the user wants to display on the operation / display unit 41 as notification means are specified. Specifically, when the cooling effect detection means 62 detects that the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment, the inspection item to be displayed is defined. The only difference is that the Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the above-described first embodiment and the operations and effects thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.
The flow of judgment (detection) based on the display on the operation / display unit 41 as the notification means and the detection results of the operation detection means 61 and the cooling effect detection means 62 by the abnormal operation detection means 65 is described above. This will be described in more detail than the first embodiment.

First, the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the abnormal operation detection unit 65, and the display on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification unit are described in the following example using Table 1 below. 1 will be described in more detail.

As described above, the abnormal operation detection unit 65 relates to the operation of the cooling device 50, and the rotational speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 detected by the operation detection unit 61 are determined based on the control of the cooling control unit. When it is within the range, it is detected as normal, and when it is not within the predetermined range, it is detected as abnormal.
Further, regarding the cooling effect of the cooling device 50, it is detected that the toner temperature detected by the cooling effect detector 62 is normal when it is below a predetermined value, and abnormal when it is higher than the predetermined value.
Then, as shown in the row of state 1 in Table 1, if the detection (judgment) based on the detection result of the motion detection means 61 is normal and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection means 62 is normal, The operation detecting means 65 detects that the cooling device 50 is operating normally. Therefore, nothing is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means.

Further, as shown in the row of state 2 in Table 1, when the detection based on the detection result of the operation detection means 61 is abnormal and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection means 62 is normal, the liquid feed pump 51 And detecting that a failure has occurred in at least one of the cooling fans 53. Then, the name (failure location) of the failure detected and a message indicating that the failure has occurred are displayed on the operation / display unit 41 as notification means.
Further, as shown in the row of state 3 in Table 1, the liquid feed pump is also used when the detection based on the detection result of the operation detection unit 61 is abnormal and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit 62 is abnormal. It is detected that a failure has occurred in at least one of 51 and the cooling fan 53. Then, the name of the device in which the failure is detected and a message indicating that the failure has occurred are displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means.
As described above, when the detection based on the detection result of the motion detection means 61 is abnormal, the user is informed that the cooling device 50 has some trouble by displaying the above message on the operation / display unit 41. Can inform users who are.

If the detection based on the detection result of the motion detection means 61 is normal and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection means 62 is abnormal as shown in the row of state 4 in Table 1, the predetermined environment It is detected that the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside. This is because the cooling effect is not obtained even though the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, which are cooling components, operate normally, so that the temperature of the air supplied to the radiator 52 is high, or the radiator This is because the flow rate of the air supplied to 52 is considered to be small.
Then, a message indicating that the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification unit. Further, in addition to the above message, check items such as whether there are any obstructions in the vicinity of the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 and whether the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than a prescribed temperature are also notification means. Displayed on the operation / display unit 41.

  By displaying and notifying the inspection item on the operation / display unit 41 as described above, there is no shielding near the intake port 58 or the exhaust port 59, or the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than the specified temperature. Users such as users can be urged to check whether it is high. In addition, as an inspection item, as described above, there is no shielding in the vicinity of the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 that are the vents of the heat radiating unit, or the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than a prescribed temperature. There is an item such as not. Then, it is possible to prompt the user to check the check items and correct the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment.

It should be noted that the inspection items include the presence or absence of shielding around the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 of the duct 57, which is a ventilation port between the radiator 52 and the printer 100 as described above, and the temperature of the air around the intake port 58. By including whether or not is within a predetermined range, the following effects can be obtained.
It is possible to check and improve the flow rate of air such as outside air supplied to the radiator 52 and the factor that causes the temperature to be lower than the design value.

Moreover, the following effects can also be produced by using two pieces of information of the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 (cooling component) and the cooling effect by the cooling device 50.
Even if the temperature and flow rate of the air supplied to the radiator 52, which is a heat radiating unit, are not directly measured, it is detected that the surrounding environment such as the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 of the printer 100 is bad and a predetermined cooling effect cannot be obtained. It becomes possible to do.
In addition, the user is notified of the shielding for shielding the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59, and the temperature around the intake port 58, and the problems that are clarified through the inspection are urged to be supplied to the radiator 52. It becomes possible to return the temperature and flow rate of the air to be within a predetermined range.

Next, the flow of determination based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61 and the cooling effect detection unit 62 by the abnormal operation detection unit 65 will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When the printer 100 (cooling device 50) is operated (S101), the operation / cooling effect confirmation step is performed, and the operation detection unit 61 and the cooling effect detection unit 62 perform detection operations. That is, the operation detecting means 61 detects the rotational speed, which is the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, and the cooling effect detecting means 62 detects each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M) as the cooling effect by the cooling device 50. , K), the temperature of the toner in the toner container is detected (S102).
Next, the process proceeds to an operation determination step, and the abnormal operation detection means 65 determines the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 that are cooling components (S103).

When it is determined that the operation state is abnormal (abnormality in S103), the process proceeds to a failure notification step, and the notification unit notifies the failure location (failed cooling component) (S106). Thereafter, the process proceeds to a stop step and the printer 100 stops (S110).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation is normal in the operation status determination (103) in the operation determination step (normal in S103), the process proceeds to the cooling effect determination step, and the cooling effect is determined (S104). When it is determined that the cooling effect is abnormal (abnormality in S104), the process proceeds to an inspection notification step, and an inspection notification for displaying the above-described inspection items on the operation / display unit 41 as notification means is performed (S105). Thereafter, the process proceeds to a stop step and the printer 100 stops (S110).

If it is determined in the cooling effect determination step that the cooling effect is normal (normal in S104), the process proceeds to the operation stop determination step, and it is determined whether or not the operation of stopping the printer 100 has been performed (S107). ). If it is determined in the operation stop step that the operation is stopped (Yes in S107), the operation proceeds to the stop step and the image forming apparatus stops (S110).
In the operation stop determination step, when it is determined that the operation is performed (No in S107), the operation / cooling effect confirmation step is performed (S102).
By controlling in this way, as shown in Table 1, notification of failure location (S106) and inspection notification (S105) for the detection result of the abnormal operation detection means 65 is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means. Can be done. Further, when an abnormality occurs in the cooling device 50, or when there is no abnormality in the cooling device 50 but a desired cooling effect is not obtained, the printer 100 can be stopped (S110).

Example 3
Example 3 of the printer 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of control based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the abnormal operation detection unit 65 of the printer 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The printer 100 according to the present embodiment is the same as the printer according to the second embodiment described above, the display on the operation / display unit 41 that is a notification unit, and the detection results of the operation detection unit 61 and the cooling effect detection unit 62 by the abnormal operation detection unit 65. The difference is only in the point related to the determination (detection) based on. Specifically, since only the inspection notification step is different, description of other control flows is omitted. In addition, the same configuration as in the first and second embodiments and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

In this embodiment, after the inspection notification step (S105), the process proceeds to the counting step, and the number of times the inspection notification step is reached is counted (S108).
Thereafter, the process proceeds to a count number comparison step (S109). If the count number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (Yes in S109), the process proceeds to a stop step and the image forming apparatus stops (S110). On the other hand, in the count number comparison step (S109), when the count number is smaller than a predetermined threshold (No in S109), the process proceeds to the operation / cooling effect confirmation step (S102).

By controlling as described above, even when the abnormal operation detection unit 65 determines that the operation is normal and the cooling effect is abnormal, the printer 100 is not immediately stopped, and the above state occurs frequently. Can be stopped.
In addition, a counter initialization step for setting the number of counts to 0 after the cooling effect determining step is determined to be normal (normal in S104) may be provided. By providing the counter initialization step in this way, the printer 100 is stopped only when the abnormal operation detecting unit 65 continues the normal operation and the state in which the cooling effect is determined to be abnormal for a predetermined time or longer. It is also possible to do so.

Example 4
Example 4 of the printer 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer 100 that is an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The printer 100 according to the present embodiment is a heat generation state that detects the heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, and K) to be cooled. The only difference is that the detection means 66 is provided. Therefore, the configuration similar to the above-described first to third embodiments and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a heat generation state detecting unit 66 for detecting the heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is provided.
This heat generation state detection means 66 is provided for each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) by a driving torque sensor 67 (Y, C, M, K) provided in the driving unit of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). The heat generation state of the toner in each toner container is detected by detecting the drive torque of M, K).
Each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is controlled in rotational speed by a main body control unit (not shown), and can determine whether the heat generation state is normal or abnormal depending on the magnitude of the driving torque. . Therefore, the abnormal operation detecting means 65 determines whether or not the driving torque of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) detected by the heat generation state detecting means 66 is below a predetermined value (normal) (abnormal). ). In other words, the abnormal operation detection unit 65 has a normal heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled based on the detection result of the heat generation state detection unit 66. Determine whether it is abnormal or not.

Then, based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the heat generation state detection unit 66, the abnormal operation detection unit 65 has a decrease in cooling capacity due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100. Detect whether or not.
When it is detected that the cooling capacity is lowered due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100, the operation / display unit 41, which is a notification means, notifies the user of the inspection item.
As described above, by including the heat generation state detecting means 66 for detecting the heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled, the inside of each toner storage portion due to some abnormality. It is possible to detect whether the amount of heat generated by the toner increases.
Therefore, the decrease in the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment is caused by the heat generation due to the heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled. It can also be distinguished from a decrease in cooling capacity due to an increase in volume.

  In the present embodiment, the heat generation state detecting means 66 uses a driving torque sensor 67 (Y, C, M, K) provided in the driving unit of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to develop each developing device. The driving torque of the device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is detected. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the current value of a drive motor (not shown) that drives each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is measured to store each toner. It is also possible to estimate the heat generation state of the toner in the section.

(Example 5)
Example 5 of the printer 100 according to this embodiment will be described.
The printer 100 of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the printer of the above-described fourth embodiment, and an abnormal operation detection unit based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the heat generation state detection unit 66. The only difference is that it defines 65 specific detections. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the first to fourth embodiments and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

Hereinafter, the following Table 2 is used for the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, the heat generation state detection unit 66, and the abnormal operation detection unit 65, and the display on the operation / display unit 41 as the notification unit. I will explain.

The abnormal operation detection unit 65 relates to the operation of the cooling device 50, and is normal and not within the predetermined range when the rotation speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 detected by the operation detection unit 61 are within the predetermined range. In case, it is judged as abnormal.
Further, regarding the cooling effect of the cooling device 50, the temperature of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) detected by the cooling effect detecting means 62 is equal to or lower than a predetermined value. If it is higher than a predetermined value, it is determined as abnormal.
Further, regarding the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled, each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) detected by the heat generation state detecting means 66 is used. When the driving torque is below a predetermined value, it is determined to be normal, and when it is higher than the predetermined value, it is determined to be abnormal.
As shown in the row of state 1 in Table 2, if all of the detections (judgments) based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61, the cooling effect detection unit 62, and the heat generation state detection unit 66 are normal, The operation detecting means 65 detects that the cooling device 50 is operating normally. Therefore, nothing is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means.

Further, as shown in the row of state 2 in Table 2, the detection based on the detection results of the operation detection means 61 and the cooling effect detection means 62 is normal, and the detection based on the detection results of the heat generation state detection means 66 is performed. In the case of an abnormality, it is detected that some failure has occurred in each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). Then, the developing device 3 that has detected the failure is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 that is a notification unit, and a message indicating that the failure has occurred.
Further, as shown in the row of state 3 in Table 1, the detection based on the detection result of the operation detection unit 61 is normal, and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit 62 and the heat generation state detection unit 66 is performed. In the case of an abnormality, it is detected that some failure has occurred in each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K). Then, the developing device 3 that has detected the failure is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 that is a notification unit, and a message indicating that the failure has occurred.
By displaying the message as described above on the operation / display unit 41 as described above, it is the user that there is some failure in any of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K). Can inform the user.

  Further, as shown in the row of the state 4 in Table 2, the detection based on the detection results of the operation detection unit 61 and the heat generation state detection unit 66 is abnormal, and the detection based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit 62 is detected. When normal, it detects that the following failure has occurred. It is detected that a failure has occurred in at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 and any one of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K). Then, among the liquid feed pump 51, the cooling fan 53, and each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K), the name (failure location) of the detected failure and a message indicating that the failure has occurred. The information is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 as a notification means.

Further, as shown in the row of state 5 in Table 2, when the detection based on the detection results of the operation detecting means 61, the cooling effect detecting means 62, and the heat generation state detecting means 66 is abnormal, the following failure occurs. Detect that you are. As in the case of the state 4 row in Table 2, a failure has occurred in at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 and any one of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K). To detect. In addition, among the liquid feed pump 51, the cooling fan 53, and each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K), the name of the one that detected the failure and a message that the failure has occurred are notification means. Displayed on the operation / display unit 41.
By displaying the above message on the operation / display unit 41 as described above, any one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 and each of the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K) is displayed. However, it is possible to inform the user who is a user that there is some trouble.

  Further, as shown in the row of state 6 in Table 2, the detection based on the detection result of the operation detection unit 61 is abnormal, and the detection is based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit 62 and the heat generation state detection unit 66. When is normal, it is detected that the following failure has occurred. It is detected that at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 has failed. Then, the name of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 that detected the failure and a message indicating that the failure has occurred are displayed on the operation / display unit 41 that is a notification means.

Further, as shown in the row of state 7 in Table 2, the detection based on the detection results of the motion detection means 61 and the cooling effect detection means 62 is abnormal, and the detection based on the detection results of the heat generation state detection means 66 is not detected. If it is normal, the following failure is detected. As in the case of the state 6 row in Table 2, it is detected that a failure has occurred in at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53. Then, the name of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 that detected the failure and a message indicating that the failure has occurred are displayed on the operation / display unit 41 that is a notification means.
By displaying the message as described above on the operation / display unit 41 as described above, at least one of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 can be notified to the user who is a user. it can.

As shown in the row of state 8 in Table 1, the detection based on the detection results of the operation detection means 61 and the heat generation state detection means 66 is normal, and the detection based on the detection results of the cooling effect detection means 62 is performed. In the case of an abnormality, it is detected as follows. It is detected that the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment.
This is because the cooling effect is not obtained although the liquid feed pump 51, the cooling fan 53, and the developing devices 3 (Y, C, M, K) are operating normally. This is because the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is considered to be reduced due to the cause. That is, it is possible that the temperature of the air supplied to the radiator 52 is high or the flow rate of the air supplied to the radiator 52 is small.

Then, a message indicating that the cooling effect of the cooling device 50 is reduced due to the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment is displayed on the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification unit. Further, in addition to the above message, check items such as whether there are any obstructions in the vicinity of the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 and whether the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than a prescribed temperature are also notification means. Displayed on the operation / display unit 41.
By displaying and notifying the inspection item on the operation / display unit 41 as described above, there is no shielding near the intake port 58 or the exhaust port 59, or the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than the specified temperature. Users such as users can be urged to check whether it is high. In addition, as an inspection item, as described above, there is no shielding in the vicinity of the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 that are the vents of the heat radiating unit, or the temperature around the intake port 58 is higher than a prescribed temperature. There is an item such as not. Then, it is possible to prompt the user to check the check items and correct the use of the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment.

Further, the operation status of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, the heat generation state of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled, and the cooling effect by the cooling device 50 By using these three pieces of information, the following effects can also be achieved. Even if the temperature and flow rate of the air supplied to the radiator 52, which is a heat radiating unit, are not directly measured, it is detected that the surrounding environment such as the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59 of the printer 100 is bad and a predetermined cooling effect cannot be obtained. It becomes possible to do.
In addition, the user is notified of the shielding for shielding the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59, and the temperature around the intake port 58, and the problems that are clarified through the inspection are urged to be supplied to the radiator 52. It becomes possible to return the temperature and flow rate of the air to be within a predetermined range.
In the printer 100 of the present embodiment, the heat generation state (possibility of abnormal heat generation) of the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) to be cooled can be considered. A more accurate determination can be made than the configuration described in the second embodiment.

(Example 6)
Example 6 of the printer 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a configuration in which the detection result of the abnormal operation detection unit 65 provided in the printer 100 that is the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is transmitted to the service base.

  The printer 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the printers according to the first to fifth embodiments described above only in that the detection result of the abnormal operation detection unit 65 provided in the printer 100 is provided to the service base. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the first to fifth embodiments and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

  The printer 100 of the present embodiment can also be applied to a plurality of image forming apparatuses in an environment connected to an in-house server by an in-house LAN as shown in FIG. The in-house server to which the printer 100 of this embodiment is connected is connected to a management device installed in the service center and a management terminal such as a personal computer via a communication line used for the Internet or the like. In the service center, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not a serviceman needs to visit (maintenance) and contact based on the detection result of the abnormal operation detection unit 65 of each printer 100 serving as each image forming apparatus.

In other words, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment may transmit the detection result of the abnormal operation detection unit 65 to a management terminal device installed at a service base that manages the management of the printer 100 via a communication line used for the Internet or the like. it can. In the service center, it is possible to appropriately determine whether a serviceman needs to visit or contact the service person based on the detection result of the abnormal operation detection unit 65 of each printer 100.
The need for maintenance or repair can be determined at an early stage by notifying the service base that manages the management of the printer 100 via the communication line of the detection result of the abnormal operation detection means 65 that also functions as the use environment detection means. .

(Example 7)
Example 7 of the printer 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the printer 100 that is the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the heat receiving unit of the cooling device 50 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 9 is the cooling according to the present embodiment. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the device 50. FIG.

  The printer 100 of the present embodiment is different from the printers of the first to sixth embodiments described above only in the point related to the cooling target to be cooled by the cooling device 50. Specifically, in the printers according to the first to sixth embodiments, the toner in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) is targeted for cooling, whereas with the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, The only difference is that the sheet P after being fixed by the fixing device 33 is to be cooled. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the first to sixth embodiments, and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cooling device 50 of the present embodiment includes two cooling members that absorb heat from the paper P that is nipped and conveyed by the belt conveying means 73 and cool it. That is, the belt conveying means 73 and the two cooling members as the heat receiving members that are the cooling constituent members constitute a heat receiving portion (hereinafter referred to as a paper cooling portion 70) of the cooling device 50.
The belt conveying means 73 endlessly moves an upper belt mechanism 74 that moves the upper conveying belt 75 disposed on the upper surface side of the sheet P in the drawing and the lower conveying belt 78 disposed on the lower surface side of the sheet P in the drawing. And a lower belt mechanism 77 to be moved.
The two cooling members are an upper cooling member 71a that is an upper heat receiving member that absorbs the heat of the paper P from the upper surface side, and a lower heat receiving member that is the lower heat receiving member that absorbs the heat of the paper P from the lower surface side. A cooling member 71 b is disposed on the lower conveyance belt 78.

  The upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b are arranged so as to be shifted along the transport direction of the paper P. The upper cooling member 71a has an upper heat absorbing surface 72a having a slightly bulged flat circular arc surface on which the inner peripheral surface of the upper conveying belt 75 slides, and an inner surface of the lower conveying belt 78 on the lower cooling member 71b. A slightly bulging flat circular arc shaped lower endothermic surface 72b on which the peripheral surface slides is formed. And the cooling fluid flow path through which a cooling fluid flows is formed inside the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b.

Further, the upper belt mechanism 74 has four belt stretching rollers 76a, 76b, 76c, and 76d, and the upper conveying belt 75 is stretched over and is endless in the arrow direction B (clockwise direction) in the drawing. Move (run). On the other hand, the lower belt mechanism 77 has four belt stretching rollers 79a, 79b, 79c, 79d, and the lower conveying belt 78 is stretched over in the direction of the arrow C (counterclockwise direction) in the figure. Move endlessly (run). Then, the sheet P is nipped and conveyed by the upper conveyance belt 75 and the lower conveyance belt 78 in the direction of the arrow A in the drawing by the endless movement of the upper conveyance belt 75 and the lower conveyance belt 78.
Each conveyor belt is driven by using a belt stretching roller 79a of the lower belt mechanism 77 as a driving roller and other belt stretching rollers 79b, c, d as driven rollers by a driving motor (not shown). The lower conveyor belt 78 is moved endlessly by rotating 79a. The belt stretching rollers 76a, b, c, and d that stretch the upper transport belt 75 are driven rollers, and the upper transport belt 75 that contacts the lower transport belt 78 directly or via the paper P is moved endlessly. .

Next, the cooling device 50 of the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the cooling device 50 includes the following cooling components. It has an upper cooling member 71a and a lower cooling member 71b, which are heat receiving members constituting the sheet cooling unit 70 that absorbs (receives) heat from the sheet P that has become a high temperature after fixing, which is a cooling target. In addition, there are a radiator 52 that constitutes a heat radiating member that radiates heat absorbed by the paper cooling unit 70, and a cooling fan 53 that forcibly applies external air to the radiator 52 to enhance the cooling capacity of the cooling device 50. doing. Further, a liquid feed pump 51 that is a liquid feed means for circulating the coolant between the upper cooling member 71 a and the lower cooling member 71 b provided in the sheet cooling unit 70 and the radiator 52 of the heat radiating unit, and a cooling liquid A reserve tank 56 is also provided for storing and taking in and out during maintenance.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the cooling device 50 is a conduit for connecting the liquid feed pump 51, the radiator 52, the upper cooling member 71a, the lower cooling member 71b, and the reserve tank 56 to circulate the cooling liquid. A plurality of rubber tubes 54 are also provided. The plurality of rubber tubes 54 connect the liquid feed pump 51, the radiator 52, the upper cooling member 71a, the lower cooling member 71b, and the reserve tank 56 in series to form a cooling liquid circulation path. Then, the coolant returns from the liquid feed pump 51 connected by each rubber tube 54 to the liquid feed pump 51 again through the radiator 52, the upper cooling member 71 a, the lower cooling member 71 b, and the reserve tank 56.

  In addition, each rubber tube 54 connects the other cooling structural member as follows, and comprises the circulation path of the cooling fluid. The outlet port of the liquid feed pump 51 and the inlet port of the radiator 52 are connected, the outlet port of the radiator 52 and the inlet port of the upper cooling member 71a are connected, and the outlet port of the upper cooling member 71a and the inlet port of the lower cooling member 71b are connected. Connected to the water inlet. And the water outlet of the lower cooling member 71b and the water inlet of the reserve tank 56 are connected, and the water outlet of the reserve tank 56 and the water inlet of the liquid feed pump 51 are connected.

Next, operation | movement of the cooling device 50 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
When the paper P is cooled, that is, when the paper P is nipped and conveyed, the upper belt mechanism 74 and the lower belt mechanism 77 are brought close to each other as shown in FIG. This is because the belt conveying means 73 provided in the printer 100 of this embodiment causes the upper belt mechanism 74 and the lower belt mechanism 77 to be separated when a conveyance failure (jam) or the like occurs, thereby causing the conveyance failure. This is because P is configured to be taken out. In the state shown in FIG. 8, if the belt stretching roller 79a that functions as a driving roller for the lower belt mechanism 77 is rotationally driven, the lower conveyor belt 78 and the upper conveyor belt 75 are respectively shown in FIG. It moves endlessly in the direction of the arrow indicated by (lower part) and B (upper part). As a result, the paper P sandwiched between the upper transport belt 75 and the lower transport belt 78 travels in the arrow direction indicated by A in the figure.

In the cooling device 50 of the present embodiment, when the paper P is nipped and conveyed by the belt conveying means 73 of the paper cooling unit 70 as described above, heat is absorbed from the paper P, so that the liquid feed pump 51 is driven to perform the upper cooling. The coolant is circulated between the member 71 a and the lower cooling member 71 b and the radiator 52. That is, by driving the liquid feed pump 51, the cooling liquid is caused to flow in the flow path of the cooling liquid of the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b.
At this time, the inner peripheral surface of the upper conveying belt 75 of the upper belt mechanism 74 slides on the upper heat absorbing surface 72a of the upper cooling member 71a, and the inner peripheral surface of the lower conveying belt 78 of the lower belt mechanism 77 is lower than the lower cooling member. The lower endothermic surface 72b of 71b is slid.

  For this reason, the lower cooling member 71 b absorbs the heat of the paper P from the lower surface side of the paper P via the lower conveyance belt 78. Further, the upper cooling member 71 a absorbs the heat of the paper P from the upper surface side of the paper P through the upper conveyance belt 75. Then, the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b are kept at a low temperature by transporting the amount of heat absorbed by the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b to the outside.

Specifically, by driving the liquid feed pump 51, the coolant circulates between the upper cooling member 71 a and the lower cooling member 71 b of the paper cooling unit 70 and the radiator 52. Due to this circulation, the coolant flowing in the coolant flow paths of the upper cooling member 71 a and the lower cooling member 71 b absorbs heat from the upper cooling member 71 a and the lower cooling member 71 b and becomes high temperature, and the amount of heat passes through the radiator 52. In doing so, the heat is radiated to the outside air, and the temperature of the coolant decreases. Then, when the coolant having a low temperature flows again in the coolant flow paths of the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b, the upper cooling member 71a and the lower cooling member 71b are moved from the paper P through the respective conveying belts. Absorbs the absorbed heat.
By repeating such a cycle, the sheet P is cooled from both sides.

  In the cooling device 50 of the present embodiment, by cooling the paper P as described above, the paper P is not stacked on the paper discharge tray or the like while having heat. Therefore, blocking can be effectively prevented, and the sheets P can be stacked on the discharge tray or the like without the overlapping sheets P sticking to each other.

In the printer 100 of the present embodiment, the operation detecting unit 61 detects the rotation speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 as in the first to sixth embodiments.
On the other hand, the cooling effect detecting means 62 includes an upper cooling member 71a and a lower cooling member 71b, which are heat receiving members of the cooling device 50, and a sheet immediately after being discharged from the belt conveying means 73 constituting the heat receiving portion of the cooling device 50. The temperature of P is detected by the temperature sensor 64 after cooling.
Here, the abnormal operation detection means 65 determines whether the rotation speeds of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 detected by the operation detection means 61 are within the predetermined rotation speed control ranges of the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, respectively. Detect (determine) whether or not. Further, it is detected whether or not the temperature of the sheet P immediately after being discharged from the belt conveying unit 73 detected by the cooling effect detecting unit 62 is equal to or lower than a predetermined cooling target temperature value of the sheet P.

  Based on the above detection result, the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, which are the cooling components of the cooling device 50, have failed, or the cooling capacity has deteriorated due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100. Is notified to the user by the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means. Further, when notifying the user that the cooling capacity is reduced due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100, the inspection item is also notified in the same manner as in the first to sixth embodiments.

In the printer 100 of this embodiment, the cooling target temperature of the paper P is set as follows. Regarding the type of the paper P to be passed, when the paper P is normally cooled in advance through experiments or simulations, the temperature of the paper after cooling immediately after being discharged from the paper cooling unit 70 (belt transport means 73) of the cooling device 50 is set. I ask for it. The cooling target temperature of the paper P is set to a temperature slightly higher than the post-cooling paper temperature in consideration of variations.
Specifically, a predetermined sheet temperature obtained for each type of sheet P to be passed through the cooling device 50 when normally cooled, that is, a predetermined sheet temperature that is equal to or lower than an allowable upper limit temperature at which blocking does not occur, is determined. Used as the design temperature (design value) for each type of P.

Here, it is desirable to set the cooling target temperature for each type of paper P in the cooling device 50 as shown in the following Expression 1.
Design value ≤ cooling target temperature ≤ allowable upper limit temperature at which blocking does not occur (Equation 1)
However, when variation is assumed, it is set as shown in the following Expression 2 at the time of design.
Design value <Cooling target temperature ≤ Allowable upper limit temperature at which blocking does not occur (Equation 2)
Therefore, the cooling target temperature of the paper P is set to a temperature slightly higher than the post-cooling paper temperature, which is a design value in consideration of variations.

In this embodiment, the cooling target temperature is set for each type of paper P, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the post-cooling paper temperature of the type of paper that is most difficult to cool can be set as the cooling target temperature of the paper P.
Here, examples of the type of paper that is most difficult to cool include, for example, cardboard. Since the thick paper has a large temperature distribution in the thickness direction of the paper, the paper temperature when it finally reaches a uniform temperature rises due to the diffusion of heat from the inside of the paper with respect to the paper surface temperature immediately after cooling. . Thin paper, on the other hand, has a small temperature distribution in the thickness direction of the paper, so there is less heat diffusion from the inside of the paper compared to the paper surface temperature immediately after cooling, and the paper temperature when the temperature finally becomes uniform is It does not rise as much as cardboard.

  For the reasons described above, when thin paper is cooled, if the paper surface temperature immediately after cooling is the same as that of thick paper, the paper temperature when finally reaching a uniform temperature is lower than that of thick paper. Therefore, as described above, if the post-cooling paper temperature of the thick paper that is the most difficult to cool is set as the cooling target temperature, the occurrence of blocking can be suppressed even if the thin paper that is easy to cool is cooled.

(Example 8)
Example 8 of the printer 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a printer 100 that is an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The printer 100 according to the present embodiment is different from the printer according to the seventh embodiment only in that a heat generation state detection unit that detects a heat generation state of the sheet P immediately after fixing, which is a cooling target, is added. Therefore, the configuration similar to that of the printer of the above-described embodiment 7 and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the same constituent members or constituent members that perform the same function will be described with the same reference numerals unless particularly distinguished.

  In the printer 100 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, a heat generation state detecting unit 66 is added to the configuration of the printer of the seventh embodiment. The heat generation state detection means 66 is a sheet P conveyed from the fixing device 33 to a sheet cooling unit 70 that is a heat receiving unit of the cooling device 50 by a pre-cooling sheet sensor 68 provided between the fixing device 33 and the sheet cooling unit 70. The heat generation state of the paper P is detected by detecting this temperature. The abnormal operation detection unit 65 detects (determines) whether or not the temperature of the paper P detected by the heat generation state detection unit 66 is equal to or lower than a predetermined pre-cooling paper set value.

  Based on the above detection result, the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53, which are the cooling components of the cooling device 50, have failed, or the cooling capacity has deteriorated due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100. Is notified to the user by the operation / display unit 41 which is a notification means. Further, when notifying the user that the cooling capacity is reduced due to use outside the predetermined environment of the printer 100, the inspection item is also notified in the same manner as in the first to seventh embodiments.

In the printer 100 of this embodiment, the pre-cooling paper set value of the paper P is set as follows. With respect to the type of paper P to be passed, the post-fixing paper temperature when it is normally heated by the fixing device 33 is obtained in advance through experiments and simulations. Then, the sheet set value before cooling of the sheet P is set to a temperature slightly higher than the sheet temperature after fixing in consideration of variations.
In the printer 100 of this embodiment, the pre-cooling paper set value is set for each type of paper P.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer 100 that can function as a multifunction machine having a copier function or a fax function by adding an optional scanner device or fax board inside the apparatus main body. explained. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the present invention can also be applied to a copying machine 110 that includes a scanner unit 200 from the beginning and also includes a separable sheet feeding unit 300 having two sheet feeding cassettes 30.
Further, an example in which the present invention is applied to the cooling device 50 configured to cool the toner stored in the toner storage portion of each developing device 3 (Y, C, M, K) and the configuration configured to cool the paper P after fixing. explained. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the cooling for cooling the laser light source included in the optical writing device 11 and a motor for driving a polygon mirror that rotates at high speed shown in FIG. The present invention can also be applied to a copying machine 110 having an apparatus.

Further, although an example in which the present invention is applied to the tandem intermediate transfer type printer 100 has been described, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the present invention can be applied to a tandem type direct transfer type image forming apparatus, a monochrome image forming apparatus that uses only one image forming unit, and a revolver type intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus.
Moreover, although the example which applied this invention to the printer 100 provided with the cooling device 50 of the liquid cooling system was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to such a structure. For example, the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus including an air cooling type cooling device. In other words, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus that includes a cooling target that requires temperature management and uses a cooling fan as a cooling device for cooling the cooling target.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
In an image forming apparatus such as a printer 100 having a cooling device such as a cooling device 50 for cooling a cooling target such as toner stored in a toner storage portion of the developing device 3, a liquid feed pump 51 and a cooling device constituting the cooling device. An operation detection unit such as an operation detection unit 61 that detects an operation state of a cooling component such as the fan 53, a cooling effect detection unit such as a cooling effect detection unit 62 that detects a cooling effect by the cooling device, and the operation detection unit And a use environment detection unit such as an abnormal operation detection unit 65 for detecting whether the image forming apparatus is used outside a predetermined environment based on the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit. Is.

According to this, as described in the first embodiment (to 8), the following effects can be obtained.
The use environment detecting means is used for use outside the predetermined environment of the image forming apparatus when the cooling effect of the desired cooling target by the cooling apparatus cannot be obtained even though all the cooling components are operating normally. It can be determined that the cooling capacity of the cooling device due to the deterioration has occurred. Therefore, the temperature rise of the cooling target due to a failure of one of the cooling components, the blowing resistance by the cooling fan increases, or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port 58 or the like exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature. It can be distinguished from a decrease in cooling capacity due to use outside a predetermined environment.
Therefore, it is possible to detect a decrease in the cooling capacity of the cooling device due to use outside a predetermined environment in which the air blowing resistance by the cooling fan increases or the temperature of the outside air sucked from the intake port exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature. An image forming apparatus can be provided.

(Aspect B)
In (Aspect A), the cooling device such as the cooling device 50 includes, as the cooling component, a pump such as a liquid feed pump 51 that circulates a cooling liquid between a heat receiving portion and a heat radiating portion, a radiator 52, and the like. A liquid cooling type cooling device having a cooling fan such as a cooling fan 53 for enhancing the heat radiation effect in the heat radiating section, wherein the operation detecting means such as the operation detecting means 61 is an operating state of the pump and the cooling fan. Is detected.
According to this, as described in the first embodiment (to 8), the operation detection means detects the operation status of the pump and the cooling fan, thereby greatly affecting the cooling effect of the liquid cooling type cooling device. It is possible to detect the state of the operating unit to perform, and to control the image forming apparatus efficiently.

(Aspect C)
In (Aspect B), the motion detection means such as the motion detection means 61 also detects the amount of coolant circulated between the heat receiving portion such as the cooling jacket 55Y and the heat radiating portion provided with the radiator 52 and the like. It is characterized by.
According to this, as described in the first embodiment (to 8), the cooling effect decreases due to natural volatilization or liquid leakage due to the decrease in cooling effect due to the use of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment. It can also be distinguished from a decrease in cooling capacity due to the decrease.

(Aspect D)
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect C), the cooling effect detection unit such as the cooling effect detection unit 62 detects the temperature of the cooling target such as toner stored in the toner storage unit of the developing device 3. A temperature sensor such as the developer temperature sensor 63Y is used.
According to this, as described in the first embodiment (to 8), the following effects can be obtained.
The developer temperature sensor used when controlling the operation of each cooling component such as the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 provided in the cooling device such as the cooling device 50 can also be used as the sensor used for the cooling effect detection means. it can. Therefore, it can contribute to cost reduction of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100.

(Aspect E)
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect D), a heat generation state detection unit such as a heat generation state detection unit 66 that detects a heat generation state of the cooling target such as toner stored in a toner storage unit of the developing device 3 is provided. The use environment detecting means such as the abnormal action detecting means 65 is the detection result of the action detecting means such as the action detecting means 61, the cooling effect detecting means such as the cooling effect detecting means 62, and the heat generation state detecting means. Based on the above, a decrease in cooling capacity due to use of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100 outside a predetermined environment is detected.
According to this, as described in the fourth embodiment (or 8), the following effects can be obtained.
By having the heat generation state detecting means for detecting the heat generation state of the cooling target, it is possible to detect whether or not the heat generation amount of the cooling target has increased due to some abnormality.
Therefore, a decrease in the cooling effect due to the use of the image forming apparatus outside the predetermined environment can be distinguished from a decrease in the cooling capacity due to an increase in the amount of heat generated due to the heat generation state of the cooling target.

(Aspect F)
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect E), an operation / display unit that notifies a user of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100 of a detection result detected by the use environment detection unit such as the abnormal operation detection unit 65 41 and the like are provided.
According to this, as described in the first embodiment (to 8), the following effects can be obtained.
It is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from being used for a long time in a state where the cooling effect is lowered due to the use of the image forming apparatus outside the predetermined environment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lifetime of any cooling component such as the liquid feed pump 51 or the cooling fan 53 from being shortened or the occurrence of a failure of the apparatus such as the developing device 3 provided with a cooling target such as toner. it can.
In addition, since the occurrence of a failure of the apparatus provided with the cooling target can be suppressed, the occurrence of downtime incapable of image formation due to the failure of the apparatus provided with the cooling target can also be suppressed.

(Aspect G)
In (Aspect F), the use environment detection unit such as the abnormal operation detection unit 65 has a normal detection result of the operation detection unit such as the operation detection unit 61 and the cooling effect detection unit such as the cooling effect detection unit 62. When the detection result is abnormal, the detection result and the inspection item are notified by the notification means such as the operation / display unit 41.

According to this, as described in the second embodiment (to 8), the following effects can be obtained.
When the cooling components such as the liquid feed pump 51 and the cooling fan 53 are operating normally but the desired cooling effect is not obtained, the detection result and the inspection item are notified by the notification means. The user can be informed and prompted to check the cause. In addition, as inspection items, there are items such as whether there are any shielding objects in the vicinity of the ventilation holes of the heat radiating section such as the intake port 58 and the exhaust port 59, or whether the temperature around the intake port is higher than a prescribed temperature. Is mentioned. Then, it is possible to prompt the user such as a user to check the check items and correct the use of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100 outside the predetermined environment.

(Aspect H)
In (Aspect G), the inspection items include the presence or absence of a shield around the vents such as the air inlet 58 and the air outlet 59 of the duct 57 between the heat radiating unit such as the radiator 52 and the outside of the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100, And whether or not the temperature of the air around the vent is within a predetermined range.
According to this, as described in the second embodiment (to 8), the following effects can be obtained.
It is possible to check and improve the factors that cause the flow rate and temperature of air such as outside air supplied to the heat radiating unit to be lower than the design value.

(Aspect I)
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect H), a management terminal apparatus installed at a service base that manages the image forming apparatus such as the printer 100 via a communication line such as a communication line used for the Internet or the like. The detection result of the use environment detecting means such as the abnormal operation detecting means 65 is transmitted.
According to this, as described in the sixth embodiment (to 8) described above, by notifying the detection result of the use environment detecting means to the service base having jurisdiction over the management of the image forming apparatus via the communication line, maintenance or The need for repair can be determined early.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor 2 Charging device 3 Developing device 9 Image forming unit 10 Image forming unit 11 Optical writing device 20 Intermediate transfer unit 21 Intermediate transfer belt 22 Secondary transfer backup roller 23 Stretching roller 24 Drive roller 25 Tension roller 30 Paper feed cassette 31 Paper transport path 32 Secondary transfer roller 33 Fixing device 34 Reversing device 35 Paper discharge port 41 Operation / display unit 50 Cooling device 51 Liquid feed pump 52 Radiator 53 Cooling fan 54 Rubber tube 55 Cooling jacket 56 Reserve tank 57 Duct 58 Air intake port 59 Exhaust port 61 Operation detection means 62 Cooling effect detection means 63 Developer temperature sensor 64 Temperature sensor after cooling 65 Abnormal operation detection means 66 Heat generation state detection means 67 Drive torque sensor 68 Pre-cooling paper sensor 70 Paper cooling part 71a Upper cooling member 71b Lower part cooling Member 72a Upper heat absorbing surface 72b Lower heat absorbing surface 73 Belt conveying means 74 Upper belt mechanism 75 Upper conveying belt 76a, b, c, d Belt stretching roller (driven roller)
77 Lower belt mechanism 78 Lower conveyor belt 79a Belt stretch roller (drive roller)
79b, c, d Belt stretcher roller (driven roller)
100 Printer 110 Copier 200 Scanner Unit 300 Paper Feeding Unit P Paper

JP 2012-083701 A JP 2012-237940 A

Claims (9)

In an image forming apparatus provided with a cooling device for cooling an object to be cooled,
In the detection results of the operation detection means for detecting the operation status of the cooling components constituting the cooling device, the cooling effect detection means for detecting the cooling effect by the cooling device, and the operation detection means and the cooling effect detection means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a use environment detecting unit configured to detect whether or not the image forming apparatus is used outside a predetermined environment. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The cooling device is a liquid cooling type cooling device having, as the cooling component, a pump that circulates a cooling liquid between a heat receiving portion and a heat radiating portion, and a cooling fan that enhances a heat radiating effect in the heat radiating portion. ,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the operation detecting unit detects an operation state of the pump and the cooling fan. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the operation detecting unit also detects an amount of a coolant circulating between the heat receiving unit and the heat radiating unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the cooling effect detecting means uses a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the cooling target. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A heating state detecting means for detecting a heating state of the cooling object;
The use environment detection unit detects a decrease in cooling capacity due to use of the image forming apparatus outside a predetermined environment based on detection results of the operation detection unit, the cooling effect detection unit, and the heat generation state detection unit. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
An image forming apparatus comprising notification means for notifying a user of the image forming apparatus of a detection result detected by the use environment detecting means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6.
The use environment detection unit notifies the detection result and the inspection item by the notification unit when the detection result of the operation detection unit is normal and the detection result of the cooling effect detection unit is abnormal. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7.
The inspection items include whether or not there is a shield around the vent between the heat radiating unit and the outside of the image forming apparatus, and whether or not the temperature of the air around the vent is within a predetermined range. apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the detection result of the use environment detecting means is transmitted to a management terminal device installed at a service base having jurisdiction over the management of the image forming apparatus via a communication line.

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